The present invention relates to cotton harvesting machines and more particularly to a harvest row unit suitable for harvesting narrow rows of cotton.
Conventional self-propelled cotton harvesters include a frame mounted pair of drive wheels, and a pair of steerable rear wheels providing the harvester with proper direction. Mounted, usually, in the front or forward end of the cotton harvester are two or more harvesting units.
Each harvesting unit typically includes a housing which encloses two rotatably driven picker rotors, two doffer assemblies, and a picker spindle moistening assembly for each rotor. Each picker rotor has numerous circularly driven picker bars. Each picker bar mounts a plurality of rotatably driven, radially extending picker spindles for removing cotton from a plant. The doffer assembly includes a column of doffer pads which are positioned to remove the cotton from the picker spindles. The moistener assembly includes a column of moistening pads arranged to add moistening fluid to the cotton picker spindles before they are introduced into the cotton plants.
Cotton pickers typically harvest one to six rows of cotton with the rows spaced usually 38 or 40 inches (96 to 102 centimeters) apart. However, recent cotton planting techniques have resulted in cotton rows being planted as close as 30 inches (76 centimeters) apart.
A particular cotton row planting configuration involves two parallel rows of cotton plants planted 30 centimeters apart with a second grouping of parallel cotton plant rows 60 centimeters from the first cotton plant row grouping. Such arrangement is prevalent and mainly handpicked in mainland China and other third world or developing countries.
Examples of narrow row cotton harvesters are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,403 (issued Sep. 3, 1985) for a xe2x80x9cNarrow Row Cotton
Harvester and Picker Unitxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,897 (issued Apr. 10, 1990) for a xe2x80x9cNarrow Row Cotton Harvesterxe2x80x9d. Both of said patents are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Both of said patents disclose picker units incorporating offset picker rotors and doffer assemblies which pick the cotton on both side s of a single row of cotton plants. The offsetting of the picker assemblies allow for various configurations and nesting of the picker units to facilitate the harvesting of narrow row cotton plants. Two picker/doffer assemblies are mounted in each picker unit to harvest one row of cotton plants.
Another example of the narrow row cotton picker is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,988 (issued May 28, 1996) to Copley, et al., entitled xe2x80x9cNarrow Row Cotton Picker and Row Unit Thereforxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,497 (issued Apr. 18, 1989) to Deutsch, et al., entitled xe2x80x9cCotton Harvester and Tandem Row Unit Thereofxe2x80x9d. These latter two patents each disclose picker units that incorporate two picker rotors and associated doffer assemblies that are aligned in tandem to pick cotton from one side of a cotton row plant. Each cotton plant row is picked by two picker/doffer assemblies. In the latter patent disclosures, the picker units must skip a row of cotton plants, particularly in the 30 centimeter planting configuration, which necessitates two passes of the cotton harvesting machine to pick adjacent 30 centimeter rows which are unpicked on the first pass.
Thus there is a need for a cotton harvester that will use only one picker/doffer assembly for each plant row. There is a further need for a cotton harvester that provides more than one picker/doffer assembly in a housing, with at least one picker/doffer assembly for each plant row. There is an additional need for a multi-picker rotor cotton harvester that provides for adjustment of the spacing between the picker rotors to accommodate different spacings between plant rows.
There is provided a cotton harvester which includes at least one cotton picker unit for harvesting cotton from plants planted in narrow, parallel rows. The cotton picker unit comprises a cotton picker housing that supports a lateral plant lifter which extends forward of the housing and defines a plant row channel for receiving cotton plants planted in a row. The plant channel extends back into the housing to a plant compressor sheet which facilitates the picking of the cotton from the cotton plant by a picker rotor which is supported in the housing adjacent to the plant row channel and traverse to the compressor sheet. A doffer column also supported in the housing is near the picker rotor and removes the picked cotton from the picker rotor and moves the cotton towards an outlet and through an exhaust chute for receiving the cotton. The cotton is then collected in an appropriate cotton basket. Additional cotton picker rotors can be configured in the cotton picker housing including a wishbone plant lifter extending forward of the housing approximately midway between a space defined by the adjacent lateral plant lifters. The cotton picker unit picks one or more rows of cotton plants with independent rotor/doffer assemblies. Various configurations of multiple cotton picker units can be arranged and mounted on mounting mechanisms attached to a self-propelled vehicle of the cotton harvester. An embodiment includes multiple opposing rotor/doffer assemblies mounted in a cotton picker housing picking opposite sides of adjacent cotton rows planted at a spacing less than the width of the cotton picker rotor. This embodiment provides at least one picker rotor rotating in a clockwise direction and at least one picker rotor rotating in a counterclockwise direction. An additional embodiment of the cotton harvester of the present invention includes a walk-behind cotton harvester and comprises a cotton picker housing having a pair of lateral plant lifters mounted forward of the housing and defining a plant channel extending back into the housing to a plant compressor sheet. Also mounted in the walk-behind cotton harvester is a picker rotor and a doffer column arranged to pick cotton off the cotton plant moving through the plant channel and moving the picked cotton to an outlet at the rear of the cotton picker housing. A power unit is in mechanical communication with the picker rotor and doffer column and may also be in mechanical communication with a means for moving the walk-behind cotton harvester. The walk-behind cotton harvester is provided for harvesting row planted cotton, particularly for use in developing countries.
An alternative embodiment of the present cotton harvester includes a self-propelled vehicle having a mounting mechanism and a multi-rotor unit in mechanical communication with the power unit. The multi-rotor unit comprises a cotton picker housing that is mounted on the mounting mechanism and supporting at least one lateral plant lifter and at least one wishbone plant lifter extending forward of the housing and defining a plant row channel for receiving cotton plants planted in a row. The channel extends back into the housing to plant compressor sheets which facilitates the picking of cotton from cotton plants by multiple picker rotors and associated doffer columns located traverse to the compressor sheet. The cotton is then moved to an outlet and into an appropriate cotton collecting basket. Various configurations of cotton picker units mounted both forward of the mounting mechanism and behind the mounting mechanism which is attached to the self-propelled vehicle is provided to accommodate various cotton field plantings.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, appended drawings and accompanying claims.